Underworld Read Free

recover. He threw himself on top of him and Zesh went down. Axel grabbed his hair and pulled his head back so roughly that Zesh let out a cry. Axel was ready to squash his face on the floor. Zesh struggled, managed to grab Axel’s hand and bit his fingers into his flesh. Axel relaxed his grip, just enough for Zesh to squirm free and turn himself round, bringing his fist up and into Axel’s face.
    Liam was trying to step back, wanting none of this. A crowd was gathering, cheering them on. Some for one, some for the other. In spite of Axel’s reputation hardly anyone wanted to see Zesh win. Zesh won at everything. Always. Saw it as his right.
    The two boys rolled together along the corridor. Their grunts were the only sound they made. It was the others cheering that alerted the teacher. Mr Marks suddenly burst round the corner. So angry his eyes were wide. ‘Stop this! Stop this right now!’
    The crowd scattered. Liam stepped quietly into the boys’ toilet, unnoticed. The two boys, still locked together, ignored the teacher. He dragged them to their feet by the collar.
    â€˜I will not put up with this. Both of you are on a reprimand.’
    He let Zesh go, but kept a firm hold of Axel’s shirt. Zesh looked pale and his voice was husky and breathless. ‘That’s not fair, sir. He started it.’
    Mr Marks screamed at him, his anger taking Zesh by surprise. ‘I’m not interested in what’s fair. There will be no fighting in this school.’
    Axel struggled to be free of his grip but Mr Marks wouldn’t let him go. ‘Think you’re smart, don’t you, O’Rourke. Told me I’d be sorry, didn’t you. You didn’t waste any time.’
    Axel wasn’t listening. ‘Let me go!’ he yelled, but Mr Marks held firm.
    â€˜You’re not getting away with this, O’Rourke.’ He looked at Zesh, saw for the first time the real pallor in his face. ‘What’s wrong with you, Zesh?’
    Zesh shook his head. ‘Not used to fighting, sir.’ He was breathing hard. ‘Can I go to the toilet, sir?’
    Mr Marks hesitated. Then he nodded. ‘Back here infive minutes. You’re both going to the headmaster.’ He glared at Axel. ‘Maybe you should just move into his office, O’Rourke, you spend so much time there.’
    Zesh stumbled into the toilet, pushed the door closed. He checked out the cubicles one by one, looking under the doors to see if there were any feet visible.
    Thankfully, there was no one there. He fell against the sink, his breath coming in wheezing gasps. With every second it was getting harder for him to breathe. He searched frantically through his pockets for his inhaler, desperate to find it. He never left home without it, his mother would never let him. Just in case. He needed it so seldom now, but he wasn’t used to fighting. In his panic he was sure it wasn’t there today. He didn’t want anyone to know about his asthma. Rick was the only one who knew. Where was it!
    Suddenly, he felt it in his pocket, grabbed for it, pulled it out so sharply that it slipped from his grasp, hit the tiles and rolled into one of the cubicles. Zesh let out a moan, got down on his knees. He wanted to breathe so badly he was almost ready to cry. Where had it gone? He saw it had come to rest, hitting against the bowl. Normally, Zesh wouldn’t touch anything from the floor ofthese toilets, but he was desperate. That inhaler was life.
    He crawled across the floor, lay flat, too breathless to stand, and stretched his arm under the door for the inhaler. He gripped it as if he was afraid it would suddenly leap from his fingers. He sat up, leaning against the door, and puffed it into his mouth. He breathed deeply, as deeply as he could. Waited a moment, then breathed again. Immediately, he felt his lungs open up. It was like some miracle. He took in the air gratefully. It always seemed to him like a